Three days after Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta pleaded “guilty” at a court in New York to charges of murder, conspiracy, and money laundering to assassinate Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the government has yet to comment on the case.
According to investigators in the United States, Mr. Gupta, an Indian businessman, worked with an Indian “government employee” Vikash Yadav, believed to have been associated with India’s external intelligence agency R&AW, to hire a hitman to carry out Mr. Pannun’s murder for a total sum of $100,000. Mr. Yadav, who was arrested in December 2023 in Delhi in a separate case of kidnapping and extortion, has been out on bail since April 2024 and is expected to appear for his next hearing later this week on February 20, according to his lawyers.
Nikhil Gupta, accused of murder for hire plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, extradited to U.S.
In court last Friday (February 13, 2026), Mr. Gupta, who had thus far pleaded “not guilty” and accused the U.S. authorities of mistreatment and wrongful arrest, made an unexpected appearance, and pleaded guilty to the three counts: murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
